The phenomenal armless American pilot, Jessica Cox, has arrived in Accra to begin a four-day motivational seminar in Ghana.
The seminars will kick off in Accra at the Accra International Conference Centre on Saturday, October 1, 2011, and move to the Ashanti Region the next day at the Kumasi Polytechnic and end at the Takoradi Polytechnic on October 4.
It is under the theme �Just As You Are, Arise and Do Something�.
Cox, 26, was born without arms, but that has only stopped her from doing one thing; using the word �can�t.�
Born without arms, Cox has done far more with her life than most people of her age. She holds a bachelor�s degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona, has two black belts in taekwondo, drives a car without modifications, has her scuba certification, is a motivational speaker and holds a sport pilot�s license. She performs all tasks with her feet.
�She�s unbelievable,� marvelled Jim Elliott, president and founder of Diveheart, a Downers Grove-based non-profit organization that teaches people with disabilities how to scuba dive and snorkel.
She has spoken at hundreds of gigs across the US, where she shares her upbeat philosophy and incredible story.
Doctors never learned why she was born without arms, but she figured out early on that she didn�t want to use prosthetic devices.
�Instead of investing so much time in being normal,� she said, �I realized it was more important to celebrate my difference.�
She gave up the prosthetic arms for good when she turned 14 and her family moved to Tucson from its hometown of Sierra Vista.
She keeps even more active with swimming and walking. �It�s critical to maintain strength and flexibility in my legs for any kind of activity,� she said.
Her feet have become so agile, she said, that a recent X-ray showed her toe joints looked more like fingers. �The toes were curled in more like a hand would be,� she said. �I had to ask the doctor �Does everyone�s feet look like that?� �
She is grateful for her ability to motivate others, and not only when she is speaking on stage.
�I realized when I go to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk and wheel the cart up to the cashier, I really don�t have to say anything,� she said.
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